Developer proposes 200 apartments in southeast Oceanside (original) (raw)

A developer has proposed building 200 apartments, including 25 reserved for low-income residents, on 7.78 acres previously approved for 48 townhomes that never got off the ground in southeast Oceanside.

Preliminary plans for the new project, called Cielo Living, could go to the Oceanside Planning Commission for a recommendation and to the Oceanside City Council for approval later this year, said Jim McMenamin of Alliance Development Services, based in Poway.

The City Council approved a tentative map and development plan for the townhomes under a former property owner in 2019 during what was “a different market” for residential development,

Affordable housing needs throughout the region have increased since then, and California has passed laws to encourage more high-density development. The site at the corner of Sunset Drive and Sky Haven Lane, south of state Route 78 near Oceanside’s border with Vista, also has other issues.

“It’s a hill, basically,” McMenamin said Tuesday.

Part of the property was affected by a landslide that damaged nearby homes along Sky Haven during the heavy rains of March 2023. Alliance is working with city officials to prevent further soil movement by regrading and buttressing the hillside.

The city’s approval of the townhouse project included requirements that remain with the property for the developer to pay for off-site improvements including the construction of a sewer pump station, the realignment of the Sunset and Sky Haven intersection, water line upgrades and more, McMenamin said.

Those conditions are “onerous” in the present market and may make the new project “financially infeasible” unless modified, he said.

“There are lots of challenges,” McMenamin said.

Alliance purchased the property about four years ago, he said. Company officials met with city planners for a developer’s conference June 26, which is an opportunity to review conditions and answer questions before submitting an application for the project.

Alliance had a previous conference with city officials in October 2023, when plans for a 150-apartment, affordable housing project were discussed. That project also has not proceeded.

A key part of talks with the city has been finding the right mix of affordable and market-rate homes along with the appropriate off-site improvements to make the project financially feasible, he said.

The current plan calls for a four-story building with “tuck-under” parking in carports beneath the building on the ground-floor level.

Originally Published: July 13, 2024 at 5:00 AM PST